Can with built-in dispenser



A a "i Dec. 29, 1953 I 1. T.' beam 2,664,223 CAN WITH BUZILT-INDISPENSER Filed May 20, 1950 J6 I v 7 I I I i i M w P l 2 [I *1! H! M 22l 2 1 16 2 l Bnnentor /5 reel 7: Dob/(If),

(Ittomegs Patented Dec. 29, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,664,223.oanwrrn BUILT-INHDIYSPENSER: Israel Todd Dobkin, Pittsburgh; Pa: eva uaton er fl 195, essi e- 6 99.

1 l im.-

1 l his invention relates. to a. dispenser for pellets and, inparticular, to a low cost dispensing vinecl'ianism. The mechanism may beused with -refillable. dispenser containers; but due to its lowcost, itis particularly useful incorporated in a fsingle trip or nonereusablecontainer in which thematerial to be. dispensed is packed for Shipment n53 This invention has particular utility in the dispensing of pellets ofwater-conditioning, sterilizing, or detergentv materials, used incommercial kitchens, bars, and the like. This invention will bediscussed; with particular reference to its use in such situations, butit is to be understood that theidea is not to be limited thereby.

At the present timeit is common for commercialestablishments to wash andsterilize their utensils in water treated withcertain chemicals for.sanitary purposes. This requirement is im-Q.

posed by law in many cases. Usually these chemicals are sold in liquidor powdered form which requires measuring for proper and efiectivedilution, or in the form of a wafer or tablet.

The wafers or tablets are packaged bottles or cans and the user mustreach into the bottle or can to obtain a wafer or tablet.

There are, however, disadvantages to this present method, Frequently theusers hands are wet and the remaining wafers in the container tend todisintegrate or dissolve or break into several parts if they aremoistened. In addition, the chemical wafer held in the moist hand of theuser is not sufficiently diluted and may have ill effects on the skin ofthe hand.

In order to overcome these difficulties, this invention provides acontainer such as a can, adapted for shipment and convenient handlinwith a built-in dispenser whereby the contents of the can areimmediately available without any manual transfer, merely by mountingthe can in a suspending holder over the water. All contact with thepellet is avoided, and the pellet is made available by the simpletwisting of a knob on the bottom of the container.

In a preferred embodiment, the invention comprises a feed wheel adaptedto fit in one end of a can, having circumferentially spaced notches orpockets. The wheel has an operating knob extending through a centralhole in the can end and is rotatable thereon. The can end also has adischarge opening adjacent its periphery with which the wheel pocketsare adapted to register successively. A bridging strap extends acrossthe .inner .face :of the wheel in alinement with the discharge. openingto prevent the discharge of more than one pellet when one of the pocketsregisterswith the opening. The'entire device is assembled with the canend and is secured in position in the. can body when the end is seamedor soldered thereto.

A complete understanding of the invention may be gained from thefollowing detailed. descriptionand explanation which refer to theaccompanyine, drawin s illustrating a preferred embodiment. In thedrawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation showing acan having the. invention incorporatedtherein, removably suspended in a holder in dispensing position;

Fig.2 isapartial vertical section throughthe can;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken along the plane of line III-'-III,of Fig. 2 l

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the can; and

5 isan end view orthe brid'zingjstrap'.

Referring now in detail to the drawin s'a can It) incorporating theinvention, hasa body H and ends l2 and i3, seamed or soldered thereto.For mounting the can, I employ a split, expansible, collar [5, providedwith a clamping screw l6. and hanger strap I! adapted to. be secured toa support by screws l8. The strap has a vertical leg, and. a horizontal.let: extending over the collar, an d'both ies have scr'ewholes wherebythe strap may be secured to a vertical or horizontal surface.

The end [2 of the can which is disposed downwardly when the can ismounted in collar l5 for use, has a central opening there n adapted toadmit a knob l9 extending axially from a feed wheel 20 riding on theinner face of end l2. As shown in Fig. 3, the wheel fits the can bodyfairly closely but is freely rotatable therein The wheel has a pluralityof circumferentially spaced notches, recesses or pockets 2| in theperiphery thereof, each adapted to accommodate one of the pellets 22with which the can is filled.

The wheel 20 mav conveniently be a die casting of a light metal oralloy. It comprises, in addition to the knob !9, a hub 23, an inner face24, and a peripheral wall or skirt 25 depending therefrom having theshape of the outline of the wheel seen in Fig. 3. A small flange 23aextends around the lower end of the hub and pro ects throu'rh thecentral opening in thecan end. When the parts have been assembled asshown, the flange is displaced outwardly by a die at circumferentiallyspa -ed points to form keys or spurs 26 overlying the edge of theopening to retain the wheel on the can end when the can is 3 turnedupside down from its dispensing position, as in shipment or handling.

As shown by the drawings in Figs. 3 and 4, the relative size of the keysor spurs is greatly ex aggerated for purposes of depiction. Actually thespurs formed by the die need be no more than very slight protrusions ofthe metal over the edge of the flange just large enough to restrainthrust movement of the knob in the hole of the can.

A bridging strap 21 extends transversely over the inner face of thewheel and has legs 28 extending outwardly to the end H. The legs havefeet or projections 29 fitting in the groove formed in the periphery ofthe end preparatory to seaming or soldering it to the body I l. Thestrap extends diametrically across the wheel as shown in Fig. 2, andoverlies an outlet or discharge opening 30 in the can end 12 adjacentthe edge of, with which wheel pockets 2| are adapted successively toregister. As the wheel is rotated, a pellet falls into each pocket andas each pocket is brought into registry with the opening 30, the pellettherein falls through the opening. The strap 2! prevents the pelletsabove the face 24 of the wheel from falling through the opening 30 afterthe discharge of the pellet from a wheel pocket.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the invention provides adispenser which is extremely simple, yet is highly effectiveparticularly for handling pellets, and may be made at such low cost thatit may be used economically in cans which are not re-used but merelydiscarded when empty. The operation of the device requires only themanual turning of the wheel knob until the desired number of pellets hasbeen discharged. Since the can having the invention therein has the sameshape, except for the projecting knob, as the conventional packing can,it may be fabricated, filled and boxed by the usual automatic machinery.

As mentioned before, this idea can be applied in situations other thanin commercial kitchens, and bars, and the like. The construction permitsits use in various situations, and the discardable container arrangementis an economical and time-saving feature. Also the dispensing mechanismmay be regarded as a separate feature in 4 itself, and used inconjunction with a refillable container.

While I have illustrated and described one specific embodiment of myinvention, it will be understood that this is merely by way ofillustration, and that various changes and modifications may be madetherein within the contemplation of my invention and under the scope ofthe following claim.

I claim:

A sealed can tablet dispenser comprising a cylindrical wall having apermanently sealed top and a permanently sealed bottom with a dispenserattached to the bottom, the tablets to be sealed in the can beingpositioned between the dispenser and the can top, said dispensercomprising a knob projecting through a central opening in the canbottom, an eccentric opening in the can bottom for the discharge oftablets, a wheel attached to the knob and movable in contact with thebottom, said wheel having circumferentially spaced tablet dispensingpockets, each pocket being arranged to register with the dischargeopening, a strap extending diametrically across the upper face of thewheel in alignment with the discharge opening, said strap having legswhich are secured with the bottom of the can in the cylindrical wall andarranged to permit the wheel to rotate freely thereunder, and a flangeintegral with said knob projecting through the central opening of thecan bottom and crimped against the bottom to hold the wheel in positionagainst the inside of the can bottom.

ISRAEL TODD DOBKIN.

